Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Last non-quilting post ...

For those of you who have been following my non-quilting adventures ... this past weekend was my BIG race!

John and I spent the weekend in beautiful Vancouver, BC which was home to a Canuck's hockey play-off game and the Vancouver Marathon ...

Nope ... neither of us ran the marathon ...

My story first, because his is SO much better ... humble beginnings ... I started running in 2010 for the first time in my life! I made some progress in the summer, but didn't get serious until I found "Couch to 10K" in the fall and started my real training. I figured out how to turn a 13-week program into a 6-month one ... and even ran 30 miles whilst on vacation in Europe in April (now that's a great way to see a new city!). So trained I definitely was ...

John's race was to start exactly one hour before mine ... he was running the 1/2 marathon with a goal of 1 hour and 55 minutes and I was running the 8K with a 55 minutes goal ... which meant that since we had started 1 hour apart ... the competition was on ... who would cross the finish line first ...

Long story short, I was just over 7K when his text arrived ... he won!

I persevered and finished 21 seconds over my goal and placing me at #22 out of 47 women in my age group ... as a brand new runner ... I WILL TAKE THAT ...

My husband, however, at the ripe young age of 67, ran it in 1:51.36 ... which is over 8 minutes better than his best time ever. That placed him #3 out of 40 in his age group, and placed him in the top 20% of ALL 1/2 marathon runners in Vancouver that day ... absolutely amazing and TOTALLY motivating!

I am so happy with the weekend ... in the process of learning how to run, I lost 17 pounds and have really focused on making sure I am eating a far more healthful diet ... I am equally proud of my man ... he did a GREAT job ...

WoW! amazing and inspiring! I've never been able to run. It's very hard for me and I always get injured somehow when I try. I get shin splints really bad, or my left foot will always get hurt. I've tried numerous different running shoes that have been recommended by running stores, and still, it's always the same thing. (I'm overweight,so I'm sure that has a lot to do with it!) But I'm working out everyday now and determined to drop some weight and hopefully be able to run. So in the meantime I'll log my miles on a stairmaster or elliptical machine.

You guys did great and what an amazing accomplishment! You should be proud!

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About Me

I am a creative soul with an analytical mind ... a "left/right brain" conundrum ... emerging from a self-imposed break from corporate life. Focused on finding a work/life balance that works. I've recently returned to work ... and life is still winning!!!